Veterinary Publications Key Terms

Understand lingo used to describe types of veterinary publications

By Kristina Seleshanko

The veterinary business is constantly changing and advancing medically. To succeed and be the best vet you can be, you will need to keep up with the latest veterinary publications. Through them, you can acquire new medical skills, learn about new equipment and technology, read opinions on the latest medical books, better diagnose your patients and much more. As you look into the various types of veterinary publications available today, you might run across a few terms that are unfamiliar to you. With that in mind, here are some frequently seen terms used to describe types of veterinary publications.

Veterinary journals

Journals are scientific publications, full of peer-reviewed, scientific articles. The veterinary field has several available journals and each provides the latest medical research you'll need to stay at the top of your field. Often, well-established veterinary organizations publish veterinary journals.
Try: The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) highlights its scientific journals "Journal of the AVMA" and "American Journal of Veterinary Research."

Veterninary virtual library

A virtual library is a collection of reference materials that you can find on the Internet, usually at a single web address. However, a few websites, called virtual libraries, are actually made up of a collection of links that point to material elsewhere on the web.
Try: DLIST offers an abstract and a .PDF document covering a study looking at virtual veterinary libraries.

Bibliographic databases

Bibliographic databases help vets find pertinent scientific articles from journals by listing search results from a variety of journals and other scholarly publications.
Try: Cornell University lists and describes several bibliographic databases for vets.

Veterinary diagnostic databases

Diagnostic databases work much the same way bibliographic databases do, except they help vets find possible causes for symptoms. Veterinarians can enter symptoms into a diagnostic database and find diseases that may include those symptoms.
Try: AUMS works with Aquavetmed to offer a diagnostic database for aquatic veterinarians. It is free for professionals in the industry.

Blackwell's

The term Blackwell's usually refers to the book Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult, published by Blackwell Publishing. Blackwell Publishing produces many veterinary books and journals.
Try: John Wiley & Sons highlights its famous Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult.
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Merck

The term Merck typically refers to the book "The Merck Veterinary Manual," published by veterinary publisher and pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.
Try: Merck & Co. describes its well-known The Merck Veterinary Manual on its website.